


We're A Possibility In An Impossible Universe

by sarahalwaysx3



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Random Collection Of One Shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 14:24:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8804338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahalwaysx3/pseuds/sarahalwaysx3
Summary: A collection of Tripdaisy prompts. AU, canon, fluff, angst, all of it.





	1. 2 Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was written in honor of Trip's two years death anniversary.  
> Just fyi, I cried a lot while writing this.  
> Enjoy :)) (I would very much appreciate kudos and comments!)

_His skin feels hot under her skin. He can feel her giggle against his chest as his finger dance over her shoulder._

_“You’re ridiculous!” She grins up at him and slaps him lightly. The patterns he is drawing are highly suggestive and it didn’t take her long to figure it out._

_His laugh vibrates underneath her as his wandering hand explores her body further. His fingertips find a particularly sensitive spot and she shivers, letting out a low moan._

_“Shhh”, he breaths into her ear, but she can hear the smile in the noise, “thin walls, y’know?”_

_The comment lets her go silent. A couple of seconds pass before she catches his hand with hers and entwines her fingers with his._

_“_ _We’re gonna tell them soon”, she says, more for herself than for him, “Once things calm down. I promise.”_

The faint knock on the door rips her out of the shoals of her thoughts and brings her back to reality.

With a little jump, Daisy spins around from where she is standing, just in time to see the door open and Jemma carefully step inside.

“I’m sorry”, her friend says in a soft voice, “I did not mean to startle you. It’s just, you suddenly disappeared and we were afraid that-“ She doesn’t finish the sentence, but Daisy knows. Of course she knows.

“You thought I’d left again.” It’s not a question, because she can tell that it is true, and Jemma’s bashful face only confirms it.

“I won’t”, Daisy promises, even though she knows deep in her heart that she shouldn’t. She doesn’t _want_ to leave again, but when has anything ever really worked out the way she wanted it to?

She remembers the reason she chose to excuse herself from the team gathering early and come here instead and her throat gets tight. With everything that has happened in the past months – Lincoln, Hive, Andrew – she almost forgot.

She can’t believe it has been two years already.

 

 

_She is on fire._

_At least, that is what it feels like. Like millions of vicious flames liking at her skin, trying to eat her alive._

_She can’t breathe. She can’t see. A scream of his name is locked in her throat, but no matter how hard she tries, she can’t get it out._

_When she finally feels it breaking off of her, the relief makes her want to cry more than the pain. But the feeling only lasts for the fraction of a second, before the_ real _pain sets in._

 _She sees the expression on his face, begging her to do something, and she wants to, she wants to do something,_ anything _, but she can only watch._

_She watches as it takes him, watches it swallow him whole. She watches his eyes as they flicker from pain to horror to regret to love._

_His eyes are trying to love her one last time and she wants to love him back, wants him to_ know _, but the only emotion present on her face is pain._

_It’s the last thing he sees from her, before he crumbles into nothing._

 

She turns her attention back to the naked walls, the almost clinically made bed and the empty shelfs and her heart aches. “When did they do it?”

Jemma sighs and leans against the door frame. “After Coulson stepped down. They said the space was needed.” She, too, is eyeing the blankness and the disapproval is clear in her voice.

They both know that the base is definitely not lacking when it comes to space, even after the arrival of all the new agents, and if they really needed the room, it wouldn’t still be empty after all these months.

Daisy shrugs her shoulders and briefly runs her fingertips over the blanket on the bed. “I guess it was just a matter of time anyway. We couldn’t have kept his stuff around forever.”

She suddenly feels Jemma’s hand on her shoulder, and its only then that she notices the tears burning in the corner of her eyes and she violently blinks, hoping she can prevent them from escaping, but she has no such luck.

“I’ve been coming in here all the time”, she starts quietly, afraid her voice might break. “First it was because I missed him. I still… I still miss him. All the time. But now… It’s funny, you know. I know it’s just my mind playing tricks on me, but I can still smell him in here.”

She swallows hard and waits a long heartbeat until she asks: “Does the pain ever stop?”

 

 

_“Be careful with that!” She whisks the box full of books away from the careless agent._

_It’s barely been 20 minutes since she’s been released from quarantine, and then she’d had to find out that they were_ clearing out his room _._

 _They’re random books. Daisy thinks she spotted a lonely Harry Potter book among them, and maybe one or another SHIELD Academy text book. They hold no significance to her, and she doubts that they did to him, but they were still_ his _._

_She’d been on the verge of tears this entire time, but when another agent almost drops a stack of t-shirts, that’s what finally pushes her over the edge._

_“Stop! Stop!” Daisy is screaming, and the tears are running down her cheeks, hot and cold at the same time. “Just- Just get out! Get the hell out!”_

_She rips the t-shirts out of from the man’s hands and watches the rest of them bail out the door, before she collapses onto the unmade bed. She remembers_ The Last Morning _vividly, the feeling of his skin against hers, the promise she gave him._

_She misses him._

_Her face is buried in his pillow. His scent is still there. It’s surrounding her and its soothing and suffocating and comforting and it drowns her._

_She misses him._

_She chokes on her sobs, his t-shirt pressed against her heart._

_She misses him._


	2. Late Nights And Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: "late nights and coffee"

“You shouldn’t be drinking this.”

 

She almost spills the hot beverage all over her precious laptop when the cup is suddenly being taken from her hands. With an offended huff, she reaches out to grab it back, but she has no such luck.

 

“Yes, I should be.” Daisy crosses her arms in frustration and sets the computer aside.

 

“If you drink coffee at 1am, you won’t be able to go to sleep all night”, Trip scolds, as he dups her drink into the sink.

 

With an eye-roll in his direction, Daisy leans back against the bed and exclaims: “Has it ever crossed your mind that, maybe, just maybe, that’s exactly what I was going for? If you haven’t noticed yet, we are in college, we aren’t supposed to sleep, like, ever. And if I don’t have caffeine within the next two minutes, I will never finish this paper, fail the class, drop out, get a minimum-wage job as a waitress and live off of your income for the rest of our lives. Who knows, I might even have to become a stripper.”

 

When she finishes her little speech, Trip is staring at her, grinning from one cheek to the other.

 

“Lose that smug face, Antoine Triplett or so help me God.”

 

In response, his smile only gets wider.

 

“What?”, she asks, trying to be annoyed with him, but she, too, can’t suppress a smile.

 

“You just said you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me.”

 

Daisy laughs out loud. “Ha! You wish.”

 

“C’mon girl.” Trip crosses the room to where she is sitting on the floor of his dorm room and pulls her to her feet. “It’s too late now. You can’t take it back.”

 

“Fine”, Daisy surrenders and wraps her arms around her boyfriends’ waist. “I’m not taking it back. But I really, really, really have to finish this paper. It’s due in less than 12 hours and I’m sure I won’t get another extension. Professor Garrett kind of hates me and he’s already given me an extra 2 days.”

 

Trip gently presses a kiss to her forehead before he says: “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna go. I’m gonna go out and find a coffee shop that is still open at this time of day. While I’m gone, you’re gonna rest that pretty little head of yours and when I get back, we’re gonna work on that paper together, okay?”

 

For a second, Daisy feels like she might cry, and she blames it on the lack of sleep she’s had in the past couple of days, but she pushes herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him, then she nods in agreement and watches as he grabs his coat and disappears out the door.

 

By the time he comes back, two big cups of coffee in his hands, he finds her curled up on his bed, fast asleep and looking more peaceful than she has in at least a week.

 

With a fond smile, he pulls his blanket up to her shoulders and picks her laptop up from the floor.

 

As he starts typing what he is sure is going to be utter nonsense, he can’t help but hope that she meant what she said before. If he gets to spend the rest of his life with her, he’ll have everything he needs.


	3. First Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: "first kiss"  
> and somewhere along the way I made this angsty. oops.

She isn’t exactly sure what the hell she is doing here.

 

Maybe it’s because her mattress smells faintly of dead mice, or because her window won’t close all the way. Maybe it’s because she’s spent the last couple of hours lying awake, wondering if after the day she’s had she’ll ever go to sleep again. Or maybe it’s because her somewhat-boyfriend had just freakin’ kidnapped her.

 

The ‘Why’ doesn’t really matter right now, anyway. What matters is that one way or another, Skye finds herself standing in front of Trip’s motel room, and before she can stop herself, she is quietly knocking on the door.

 

It takes him less than a minute to open up, gun drawn and pointed at her face.

 

She lets out a yelp before she realizes that it’s just an Icer, and relaxes a bit. “Christ, Trip, put that down! It’s just me!”

 

Trip lowers the weapon immediately. “Damn, girl, you scared the hell outta me!”

 

“Yeah? Well, you almost shot me, so I guess we’re even.”

 

He sighs and puts the Icer down on the dresser that is standing next to the door. “What are you doing here?”

 

Skye crosses her arms in front of her chest. It’s almost like a defense mechanism, a way to protect herself and hold the pieces together. “Officially I’m here to watch a movie. Unofficially… I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

 

Trip’s face softens at her words and he steps aside to finally let her into his room. Unlike the room she’s ended up with, his is warm and looks clean, there is no rotting smell in the air and the window seems to be intact, too.

 

He closes the door behind them and turns the lock twice, just for good measure. “So, which movie?”

 

“Huh?” She looks at him confusion.

 

“You said you came to watch a movie.”

 

“Oh. Right. Yes.” She blindly reaches for the remote on the coffee table and turns on the ancient TV. She starts skipping through the few channels the motel receives, until suddenly, Trip gently gets a hold of her hand and takes the remote away from her.

 

“Something tells me that watching a movie is the absolute last thing you want to do.”

 

Skye wants to answer him, but when she tries to speak, she very nearly chokes on a sob that threatens to escape her, and she frantically wipes at her eyes. She is not going to let him see her cry.

 

“Woah, hey.” She finds herself completely surrounded by him, wrapped up in his arms, her face buried in his chest. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

 

It only takes her a couple of seconds to calm herself, and when she does, an urge suddenly over comes her. She takes a step away from him, and before she can back out, she surges forward and presser her lip to his.

 

The kiss is desperate and messy and she probably shouldn’t even be kissing him, but it makes her feel something, and for now, that’s enough.

 

But then she feels Trip grab her wrists and gently push her away from him. “Skye, I don’t-“

 

“Please”, she breaths desperately, trying to get closer to him again, “please, can you just- please let me?”

 

Trip stares down at her for what feels like forever, the expression in his eyes unreadable, and when he doesn’t say or do anything, Skye reaches up to the collar of his shirt and pulls him down towards her once again.

 

She’s kissing him and she’s tugging on his clothes and for a long minute she thinks he’ll reject her again, but then finally – finally – he responds, kissing her back.

 

They don’t talk about it the next day, or the next week, or ever, even though Skye really, really wants to talk about it.

 

But she doesn’t allow herself to even think about it. Not until he’s gone and it’s too late.


	4. Movie Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: "movie night"

“I’m not watching Harry Potter again.”

 

Daisy turns around from where she is sitting cross-legged in front of the DVD player and huffs. “Uh, yes you are.”

 

Trip leans back on the couch, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “No, I’m not. I can’t even count how many times we have watched every single Harry Potter movie in the last couple of weeks. I can now recite every single line from _The Prisoner of Azkaban_ off the top of my head. I need a break.”

 

Daisy stares at her boyfriend in disbelief. “Hey, it’s been… at least three days since we last watched Harry Potter! You’ve had your break.”

 

“Pick a different movie.”

 

“But you love me!

 

Trip throws his head back and laughs, a deep, warm chuckle that makes the corners of her mouth twitch upwards involuntarily. “You can’t use ‘But you love me’ to win every argument.”

 

Daisy is grinning now, knowing damn well that it won’t be long until he gives in. “But you love me.”

 

“C’mon girl. You’re fighting with unfair means!”

 

“But you-“

 

“I know, I know”, Trip interrupts her with a sigh, but returns her smile nevertheless. “I love you. Harry Potter it is. Again. But I get at least two thirds of the popcorn.”

 

Daisy screeches with delight and puts the DVD in.

 

Two an hour later, Trip did not nearly get two thirds of the popcorn, but the happy sparkle in Daisy’s eyes while she watches the movie and the warmth of her cheek against his shoulder definitely make up for it.

 

 


	5. Framework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this right after finding out that Trip is probably going to be in episode 18!  
> I'm really proud of this one so I hope y'all like it too :)
> 
> Special thanks to Jaye for beta'ing this!

Her eyes can’t focus on anything but _him_. He is here. He is _here_. She hears Mack’s voice behind her, pleading with her, but it doesn’t matter. Why should anything matter when _he_ is here and he remembers her? Finally, after all these weeks, working alongside her without knowing who she was to him in their old – their real life, he remembers her. How is she supposed to just leave him now?

 

They first ran into each other the morning she woke up in the bathtub, when her and Ward had been called into work. With Hydra, she thinks in disgust. He’d just been there, and her heart had very nearly stopped beating. Trip, her Trip, working for Hydra. It made her feel sick to her stomach. In this world, he wasn’t the person she trusted the most. No, he was merely an acquaintance from work, associated with the organization that had ruined their previous lives. It filled her with so much hatred for Radcliffe and AIDA. How dare they create a world in which her Trip didn’t remember the way she felt about him? The way he felt about Hydra?

 

It broke her heart over and over and over again, seeing him and receiving nothing but a friendly smile while her entire body ached to be close to him. And so, after weeks of mental torture, she told him. Told him everything they had been through together, told him that he’d died for her, told him that this life here wasn’t real. And at last, he remembered.

 

“Daisy, we gotta go.”

 

Reluctantly, Daisy brings herself to finally turn away from Trip. Mack’s eyes are gleaming with tears as he clutches his daughter’s hand. Hope is pressed into his side, her hands threaded into his shirt, holding on for dear life.

 

Mack doesn’t want to leave either, she realizes. Of course he doesn’t want to leave. _You’re not the only one who’s lost someone_ , she reminds herself, _you’re not the only one who is in pain_.

 

She looks back at Trip again and for a moment she sees the life they could have together if only she stayed here. A house, a family. Happiness.

 

They could have everything that Mack has.

 

Before she can think better of it, she turns around once again and falls to her knees in front of her friend and his daughter. “Hope, sweetie”, she says reaching out to touch the girl’s face, aware that she must sound like a crazy person, “you’d like it if your dad stayed with you, wouldn’t you? If he didn’t have to leave? We could all – we could all stay here, wouldn’t you like that? I’m sure he’d stay if you’d ask him, you just have to ask! Your dad could stay with you and your mom, yeah? And I – I could stay with Trip, and we could all-“

 

“Daisy, stop. Stop it.” Mack pulls Hope back by her hand, and Daisy is forced to let go of her cheek. “Simmons is gonna shut this down at any moment, and if we’re still in here when she does, that’s it, that’ll kill us. We’re the last ones, we gotta go.”

 

She wants him to shut up, wants him to let her live in this fantasy. So what if Jemma shuts the Framework down? She’s lived in a world without Trip for way too long. She’s spent the past two years telling herself that she is strong enough, but now that she has him back, she doesn’t want to return there.

 

“Daisy.” Her head jerks up at the sound of his voice. It’s the first time he’s called her that. Daisy, and not Skye. “It’s okay”, Trip assures her when their eyes meet, and he offers her a sad smile. “It’s not real anyway, right? It won’t hurt me.”

 

“But it will hurt me!”, Daisy screams back at him, her hand clawing over her heart. “It will hurt me! It always hurts!” How loud does she have to say it? What words does she have to throw at him to make him understand?

 

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Mack heave Hope up onto his hip, and the little girl throws her small arms around her father’s neck while Mack murmurs soothing words into her ear. They step out of Daisy’s sight just as Trip lowers himself down so that their faces are at the same height. “I can’t have you living in a fake reality. The world – the real world – needs Quake. SHIELD needs you. Please don’t die for me.”

 

“That’s funny, coming from the guy who _literally_ died for me.” Suddenly, she feels irrationally angry. How dare he ask her not to die for him when he put her through the exact same thing?

 

“Yeah? I watched you die too, y’know?” Trip’s voice doesn’t sound accusatory, just sad. “I died thinking that you had, too. But you lived and you became this incredible hero. Don’t give that up for a fantasy that will kill you for good this time.” He gently touches her cheek where the faint traces of an old scar are still visible. “I was so in love with you. I regret that I never got to tell you.”

 

Daisy’s breath hitches painfully in her throat, but before she has the time to process his words or form a coherent sentence to answer him, Mack interrupts them. “Daisy, time’s running out. We gotta wake up, now!”

 

Trip and Daisy are still kneeling on the ground, Daisy clinging to Trip’s arm like a lifeline, exactly the way she had before he’d died the first time. She doesn’t want to let go, not again, not after his confession, but hearing him say that he’d loved her had woken something in her.

 

She stares into his pleading eyes for a few more seconds before she moves her mouth into a grim smile. “Okay. I’m ready.”

 

“Alright, let’s go.”

 

But before Daisy forces herself to return into her physical body, she leaps forward and fiercely catches Trip’s lips with her own. She should have done this years ago, and she isn’t going to waste the last chance she might ever have.

 

“I was in love with you, too”, she whispers against his mouth and cradles his face between her hands. Trip traces the scar on her cheek once again and moves in for another desperate kiss. Daisy can feel his hand running through her hair, and she knows that he doesn’t want her to leave either.

 

With a strangled sob she intensifies the kiss a bit more until she feels him fade away from her.

 

_I’m going to get you back._

_I promise._

_I’m going to get you back._

 

And then she wakes up.

 

 


	6. 20 Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is for Jaye (@chidi-anagonye on Tumblr) because it's her birthday and she's great and I love her! ❤
> 
> "A story of how Trip and Daisy meet when they are only 5 years old, and how they keep on changing each others lives forever."

She is 5 years old, the first time she meets him. She is walking along the hedge that is separating the orphanage's brick building from the outside world, and she thinks if she tries hard enough, she might find an entrance to a magic kingdom, just like the wardrobe in the book the nuns read to her.

 

She does find a hole in the hedge, but instead of a magic kingdom, she lands in a normal backyard with a normal house and a normal sand box and a normal swing set, but to her it does look quite magical.

 

She doesn't notice the boy until he taps her on the shoulder and she jumps slightly. "Who are you?", he asks, his dark brows furrowing in confusion.

 

She eyes him up and down. He's about her age, but taller than her. He isn't from the orphanage, that she knows for sure, but his face doesn't look like he'll get her in trouble. "I'm Skye." 

 

The furrow on his face turns into a smile, and Skye thinks she might be looking right at the sun itself. "I'm Trip. Wanna play?"

 

Trip likes to play Castle, he tells her. He's a knight and she can be his princess. But when Skye crosses her skinny arms in front of her chest and says she'd rather be a knight too, his grin grows even wider and he hands her his own wooden sword.

 

All too soon she can hear the bell ringing on the other side of the hedge, signaling her that dinner is ready and she has to return to the orphanage.

 

Before she can slip back through the hole, however, Trip's hand grabs her wrist. "Will you come back tomorrow?"

 

She shakes her head. "I have to go to church on Sundays."

 

Trip's face falls, and she hurries to add: "But I'm allowed to play outside on Monday. Can I come back then?"

 

There it is again, his bright smile. He nods in agreement before she disappears through the hedge. _Who needs a magic wardrobe_ , she thinks to herself as she runs up the stairs to wash her hands before dinner. _A normal backyard with a normal house and a normal sand box and a normal swing set and a normal boy who might just become her new best friend is so much better_.

 

* * *

 

They play together every day save from Sundays, until they're both 7 when Skye has The News.

 

"They say it's permanent this time", she mumbles while her fingers draw patterns in the dirt. She doesn't feel like playing anything today.

 

"Maybe you'll have siblings", Trip encourages her, but he isn't in the mood to play today, either. "Maybe they have a dog."

 

Her new foster family does not, in fact, have a dog. Or siblings. What they do have is a two hours car drive to their home and an insistence to call her Mary Sue Poots, even after she informs them that she prefers Skye. They have a big house with a lot of rooms and she isn't allowed in any of them, except her bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, and - occasionally - the living room.

 

They also have a lot of chores and they expect Skye to do them all by herself. Skye is used to chores. She had them at the orphanage too. But she's never had to clean an entire house all alone. It's exhausting and when she asks for a break, she is told No, and so she starts throwing tantrums. 

 

She refuses to do her work, she doesn't eat the food they give her, she wanders about the house without permission. And when they take her back to the orphanage less then 2 months later, there is a big red stamp on her file that marks her 'Difficult'.

 

That same afternoon she sneaks through the hole in the hedge again, and when Trip sees her, he does something he has never done before; he wraps his arms around her in a tight hug. It makes Skye feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

 

* * *

 

When she is 11, Skye receives a letter in the mail. It's from the local jail and it tells her that her father wants to see her. She tells the nuns she doesn't want to go. Why would she want to see the man who is the reason her mother - the only person who has ever loved her - is dead? The reason she has to grow up in an orphanage? 

 

When she tells Trip about the letter, she expects him to share her opinion, but instead he shrugs his shoulders and says: "I think you should go." She's confused, until he explains: "It's your chance to tell him what he did to you."

 

The nuns take her to the jail the following Wednesday, and when Sister Evelyn insists on holding her hand while she talks to her father, she pretends it's Trip next to her.

 

It's strange, seeing the man whose nose and mouth she has. It's strange, hearing his voice and recognizing it as if it was a distant memory. It's strange seeing the pain in his eyes when she tells him she hates him.

 

She's quiet when she crawls back through the hole in the hedge, and she isn't very eager to participate in any conversation that afternoon. "What's wrong, Skye?", Trip asks, "What did your father say?"

 

She chews on her bottom lip for a few seconds before responding, silently making a decision. "My name is Daisy. He said my mom chose it."

 

* * *

 

Daisy is 13, the first time she thinks that Trip might be a bit more than just her best friend. She is starting to get a little too big for the hole in the hedge, but she keeps squeezing herself through it, anyway.

 

They have long grown out of their Knight days. Now, they just sit on the swing set, or lay on the grass, sharing Trip's headphones and listening to music on his iPod. 

 

"There's a new boy at the orphanage", Daisy tells Trip one afternoon, with some 80s rock song blaring in their ears. She tells him all about this new boy who helps her with the dishes without her asking him to, who lends her his books and doesn't mind when she bends the edges to remember the page she last read, who asked her if she had a boyfriend a little too casually.

 

Trip is silent while she talks, and Daisy isn't sure he's even listening until she mentions the boyfriend part and she can see him biting down on the inside of his cheek. A small smile plays at the corner of her lips. "Trip? Are you... jealous?"

 

He huffs out a breath that is half gasp and half laugh. "I'm not jealous", he protests, without taking his eyes off the clouds above them. "I just think he doesn't sound that special." Trip is definitely jealous, and Daisy likes it.

 

* * *

 

They're both 15 when the moving company packs up all of Trip's stuff and carries it out of his house into a giant moving truck. Daisy's stomach has been painfully clenching for the past week every time she thought about it, and right now she feels like she might throw up. 

 

They're sitting on his swing set one last time, the squeaking of the rusty screws disturbing the silence between them. Daisy has her pinky finger looped through Trip's. She wants to hold his hand, but can't quite bring herself to entwine their fingers. They let the time pass by until Trip's mom, Theresa, calls his name and it's time to say Goodbye. 

 

Trip releases a long sigh and let's go of her pinky to push himself off of the swing. Daisy attempts to follow him, but when she moves to get up, Trip quickly turns around and his hand lands on her shoulder. Daisy barely has time to process what is happening when he briefly brushes his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. It's over just as fast as it started. Trip's dark skin is blushing faintly and for the first time since she's known him, he looks unsure of himself. "I just wanted to do that before I leave", he explains with a shy smile. "I'll write to you. I promise."

 

And then he's gone and Daisy almost chokes on her own tears.

 

* * *

 

She's 17 the day she realizes that she can't take it anymore. She has only seen Trip in person 2 times since he moved across the state. The first time was a little bit awkward, but they quickly fell back into their old rhythm, and Daisy decided that if Trip could be bold enough to kiss her, she could be bold enough to hold his hand. And when they saw each other the second time, she found herself swallowing down her fear and pushing herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him Goodbye, too.

 

But the more time passes, the more painfully aware she becomes that reading his letters isn't enough to comfort her. The nuns don't care for her anymore, not the way they used to when she was younger. Soon she'll be on her own, and they never fail to remind her of the fact.

 

_So why not speed up the process_ , Daisy thinks to herself as she walks into the principal's office in her school after she has finished all her final exams, to inform her that she will not be able to attend the graduation ceremony in a week and needs to receive her diploma in the mail. When they ask her if she'd like it to be sent to the orphanage, she gives them Trip's address instead.

 

That same afternoon she throws what little she owns in a duffle bag and says Goodbye to some of the younger children at the orphanage. Then she sneaks out the door without any of the nuns seeing her and leaves the place that has been the closest thing to a home she has known for the past 17 and a half years.

 

The bus ride is long and it costs her all her carefully saved money, but she feels excitement bubbling up in her chest while she watches the various landscapes go by, and she doesn't mind the 2 miles she has to walk from the bus stop to Trip's house at 10 at night, because when she rings his door bell, he is the one to open up and he embraces her as if he never wants to let go again.

 

* * *

 

When they're 19, Trip gets into a fight with his college roommate. It's not that big of a deal, but it's big enough for Trip to get his own apartment off campus. His mother thinks he's too young to live on his own, but his part time job pays well enough to make it work. When he takes Daisy to show her the place he says: "Y'know, I could use some help with the rent. There's a spare bedroom."

 

Right now, she lives in his mom's guest room, and while she appreciates Theresa with all her heart, she has been trying to move out for quite a while, but couldn't find a landlord willing to rent to her.

 

And so, three days later, Trip carries boxes full of her stuff into his - _their_ \- apartment. Daisy wants to start unpacking right away, but they're both tired and exhausted, so instead they end up on the couch, each of them with a beer in hand. They're technically too young to be drinking, but their beers are forgotten anyway, when Daisy swings her left leg over Trip's lap and kisses him senseless. She thinks this might be the happiest she has been in a long time.

 

* * *

 

Daisy has a problem with the words. It's like she chokes on her own tongue every time she gets close to saying them. Trip says them all the time. When he's about to hang up the phone. "I love you." When he leaves their apartment in the morning. "I love you." When he kisses her Goodnight. "I love you." He doesn't ask her why she hasn't said it back yet, and she's eternally grateful, because if he did, she wouldn't have an answer.

 

On her 21st birthday, Daisy is too drunk to walk straight, and she has to clutch Trip's arm like a lifeline when he guides her into their apartment. They don't make it all the way into their shared bedroom. Instead, Daisy collapses onto the couch and takes Trip down with her.

 

Her head is buzzing. If it's the music or the alcohol or the kisses she stole on the taxi ride back home or a combination of all three, she isn't sure. All she knows is that she wants - _needs_ \- more of the latter, and so she grabs Trip's face and pulls him down towards her. His breath is hot on her cheek as she traces her lips over his pulse point. She separates from him just long enough to breathe. "I lo-"

 

His mouth is back on hers before she can finish. "Don't say it right now", he whispers against her skin. "If you still want to say it in the morning, I'll listen." He places a soft kiss on her forehead, then takes her to bed.

 

Hours later, Daisy wakes up to two big glasses of water and a bottle of ibuprofen on her nightstand and the smell of eggs and bacon in her nose. She flushes down two of the pills before making her way out into the kitchen. Trip is standing there, perfect human sunshine, and the words have never felt so easy. "I love you."

 

* * *

 

The big, pink Plus appears on the white plastic stick when she is 23. They hadn't planned this by any means. But when the pregnancy test confirms what Daisy's been suspecting for the past week, it puts a smile on her face.

 

When she tells Trip, she just blurts it out. There is no fancy reveal, no "Best Dad" shirt or tiny baby shoes wrapped up in a present. She just tells him, and when she does, he picks her up in his arms and spins her around, laughter of joy vibrating from his chest.

 

Trip holds her hand the first time they hear their baby's heartbeat. It is quick and steady, and even thought there is nothing more but a black blob on the ultrasound machine, Daisy swears it's the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her life.

 

That changes the moment her baby girl comes into the world, all dark hair and tan skin and big eyes and she's healthy and strong and _so_ beautiful. God, she's so beautiful and Daisy feels like her heart is going to explode with all the love, but that's okay, because her beautiful baby girl deserves nothing less.

 

* * *

 

When she's 25, they take their daughter on a trip to meet family outside of the state. Trip is driving the car while Daisy sits in the backseat next to the baby. A children song is playing on the radio when they pass through a small town.

 

Outside the window, a tall, brick building blurs together with a normal backyard and a normal house and a normal sand box and a normal swing set, connected by a high hedge. Together, they tell the beginning of a twenty years long story, whose ending is nowhere in sight.

 

Daisy twists the diamond ring on her finger around and smiles at her perfect little family, as her past flashes by outside of the car.


	7. Ticklish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tumblr prompt: "I love your headcanon about Trip being ticklish. Do you think you could extend it into a drabble? :)"

She watches him for a solid 10 minutes.

His shoulders are tense, she can see that even from the distance. He's focused on the tablet in his hands, but she can follow his work on the big screen in front of him. He's working the same case he has for the past four days. They all have, but it's hardest on him.

"Trip", she finally says softly, "it's 2 in the morning. Come to bed."

Trip doesn't even look up at her when he responds: "I'll be right there, I promise. I'm so close to cracking this."

Daisy sighs and walks over to him slowly. "You said that three hours ago." She steps behind him and gently grabs the tablet out of his hands with one swift move. She places it on the holotable, then she reaches up to place her hands on each of his shoulders. She carefully lets them wander over his muscles, and with each move of her fingers, she feels the tension drain from his shoulders as he leans into her.

This kind of public display of affection happens rarely between them, mostly because their relationship is technically supposed to be a secret, but also because their life style doesn’t really allow for quiet moments. 

So if it has to be 2am for her to get a quiet moment alone with Trip outside of their bunks, Daisy is going to take it.

She gently nudges him in the side to get him to turn around and face her. Trip understands the message and turns until he can pull her into his arms.

He’s been quiet this whole time, and Daisy knows he probably doesn’t really feel like talking right now, so all she does is push herself up on her tiptoes and presses soft kisses along his jaw. His arms tense around her a little bit and Daisy blames it on the fact that it’s the middle of the night and they haven’t been together in almost two weeks, but then she sneaks her hands under his shirt und runs them up his chest and suddenly Trip snorts out loud.

Daisy freezes in surprise and backs up a step. “Oh my god.”

Trip raises his hands as if to defend himself. “Daisy-“

“Oh, my god”, she repeats, and the widest smirk spreads over her face, “you’re ticklish!”

“I’m not!”, he protests, taking a step away from her. 

“You so are!” Daisy laughs and leaps after him, reaching her hands out for his sides, but Trip predicts her move and ducks away from her. 

Giggling, she chases him through the dark, empty hallways of the base. For the first time in days, she feels light and happy and not as if the weight of the world is resting on her shoulders. In front of her, she sees Trip turn his head to see how far behind him she is, and all of a sudden he stops in his tracks. It takes her brain exactly one second too long to process what’s happening. She crashes into him with full force, but he catches her in his arms and her feet briefly come off of the floor.

She shrieks when his hands wrap around her thigh and he lifts her up. Her back hits the wall with a thud and seconds later Trip’s lips are on hers, kissing her hard. The kiss is messy and sloppy, they’re both laughing as Daisy is still trying to reach out to tickle Trip.

Trip’s mouth has just wandered to nip at her pulse point, when a door down the hall opens and May steps out. She’s in a night gown, hair gathered in a messy ponytail, eyes half closed. “Wanna tell me what’s going on out here?!”

Trip and Daisy freeze mid-movement. Daisy is still perched up against the wall. Her legs are wrapped around Trip’s hip, her eyes wide. Trip’s face looks paler than ever.

When there is no immediate response, May shakes her head and turns back towards the door. “Take this somewhere else. People are trying to sleep.”

When the door shuts behind her, Trip release a long, slow breath. “Please tell me this didn’t just happen”, he groans, but there is a grin playing at the corner of his lips.

Daisy giggles and drops her head onto his shoulder. “I’m afraid it did”, she laughs against his neck and wraps her armslittle tighter around him. “But she’s one to talk”, she adds with a nod towards the door May had just disappeared into. “That’s Coulson’s room.”

If possible, Trip grows even paler. The expression on his face draws another giggle from Daisy, and she affectionately pats his chest. “C’mon lover boy, take me to bed.”


	8. Snow Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: "playing in the snow" combined with "first I Love You"

“I’m telling you, it’s _definitely_ happening tonight.”

 

Trip creases his forehead. He and Daisy clearly had a very different take on what ‘ _Tonight_ ’ meant. His hands are shoved deep into the pockets of his coat, which he had put on in a hurry when Daisy had stormed into his room at 2 o’clock in the morning, loudly announcing “It’s going to snow!” while pulling the warm covers off of him.

 

Now, 10 minutes later, the two of them are standing on the roof of the base, Daisy fully dressed in her winter clothes, with thick boots and wool gloves, and Trip in nothing but his pajamas and the coat.

 

With a look up to the few clouds on the sky, Trip sighs. “C’mon girl, just admit it, you were wrong. It’s not that big of a deal.”

 

“But I wasn’t!”, Daisy insists, bouncing up and down on her feet. “I’m never wrong. It’s like – it’s like my sixth sense, you know.”

 

“A sixth sense that let’s you know when the first snow is going to happen? I don’t think so.”

 

Daisy sticks her tongue out at him, but she’s smiling. “Just you wait and see.”

 

With an eyeroll, Trip wraps his arms around her from behind, nuzzling his nose into her neck, trying to soak up some of her warmth. “I’ll wait five more minutes, after that I’m going back to bed.”

 

When the time has finally passed, he pulls back from Daisy and shruggs his shoulders with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, girl. My bed is calling me.”

 

Just as he turns around and starts heading back inside, Daisy shrieks behind him. “Haaaa! I told you!”

 

Trip tilts his face upward. “No way.” He is met with tiny white snowflakes, falling rapidly onto the roof of the base, covering everything in a thin white layer in a matter of seconds. He lets out a low, disbelieving laugh. “How?”

 

Daisy is standing about 20 feet away from him, arms stretched out to both her sides. She is looking up at the sky, snowflakes collecting on her dark lashes and in her short hair, and Trip could swear that she has never looked more beautiful. “I told you, it’s a sixth sense!”

 

Trip laughs again, and with three long strides, he crosses the distance between them and sweeps her up in his arms.

 

“What are you doing?!”, she laughs, throwing her head back and wrapping her arms around his neck. She can’t say any more than that, because suddenly Trip’s lips are on hers, and he’s taking her breath away.

 

When he eventually pulls away from her, they’re both breathing heavily. “What was that for?”, Daisy whispers, smiling widely.

 

“You’re amazing”, Trip responds simply.

 

“Because I can predict the first snow?”, she laughs.

 

“No.” Suddenly Trip is all serious again, and the way he looks at her makes a hot shiver run down her spine. “No, you’re amazing because you drag me onto the roof of the base at two in the morning to watch the snow fall. You’re amazing because you know all the words to every single Harry Potter movie, and because you cry when you listen to Journey, and because you scrunch up your nose when you’re smiling. And because I love you.”

 

Daisy’s breath hitches in her throat. He hadn’t said it before, and neither had she. But now, hearing the words coming from him, she had no idea why it had taken her so long to realize it. She laughs, and leans her forehead against his, and it’s not long until she can feel him grin against her mouth again.

 

“I love you, too.”


	9. Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: "soulmates AU"

The first time Trip realized that there was something special about him was when he suddenly felt the urge to cry. 

 

It was his 8th birthday. All his friends were gathered in his backyard, he was about to open his presents, and all he wanted to do was cry and kick and scream. 

 

But little Antoine Triplett wasn’t one to cry or kick or scream, and so he ignored the sudden rush of feelings until late that night, when all his friends had returned home and his mom was putting him to bed.

 

He told her about the incident then, but all his mother did was smile at him knowingly.

 

The inexplicable mood swings continued to happen over the years. One minute he was laughing, and the next he felt angry, or sad, or exhausted.

It wasn’t until his senior year of High School that Trip found out about Soulmates in his Humanities class, when his teacher dedicated a whole lesson to them.

 

“Soulmates”, his teacher said, “are rare but they do exist. We don’t know how it works, but one way or another, Soulmates are able to feel each other’s emotions. How can you feel two things at once, you may ask. Well, usually the stronger emotion conquers the weaker one, and then that’s all you feel.”

 

Trip stopped listening at that point. What if he had a Soulmate? What if the mood swings were his Soulmate’s feelings spreading onto him? 

 

He couldn’t stop thinking about his mysterious Soulmate from then on. Every night when he was laying in his bed and suddenly felt scared or even terrified, his heart would ache for the person that was supposed to be his other half. What was their life like that they had to feel like this all the time?

 

It took him years until he finally found her. Trip was a SHIELD agent now, and he and his S.O., John Garrett, were on a mission when he suddenly felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside out. There was nothing but pain.

 

But Trip knew it wasn’t his pain, so he pushed through it to get where they had to go. And then there she was.

 

Her name was Skye. She was beautiful. Beautiful, fascinating, loved by all her teammates. And she was dying.

 

Every time her heart stopped beating, Trip felt his own heart trying to fight for the girl in front of him, and that’s how he knew she was going to make it.

 

Trip didn’t say anything to her until their world was crumbling around them. Ward and Garrett had betrayed them, SHIELD no longer existed, but somehow they survived and had gotten a moment of quiet to themselves.

 

He was in her motel room, neither of them paying a lot of attention to the movie that was playing on the screen of her laptop, when he brought it up.

 

“Do you ever think about Soulmates?”

 

Skye looked up at him, and not for the first time he thought that her eyes were absolutely mesmerizing. “The ones you read about in books or… the real ones?”, she asked.

 

“The real ones.”

 

She shrugged her shoulders and sank deeper into her pillow. “I guess. Sometimes.”

 

“When Quinn shot you”, he began carefully, afraid he might scare her off with the topic, “I felt that. That was pretty damn terrifying.”

 

Skye’s eyes widened, and she stared at him with an expression Trip could not read, but he felt confusion, fear, and yes, maybe a little bit of hope coming from her.

 

“You were quite a furious kid”, he joked, trying to lighten the mood, “ruined quite a few nice moments for me with that.”

 

But Skye didn’t laugh. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned away from him. “I grew up in the foster system. Most families were… pretty bad. But the worst thing was when they took me away from the good ones.”

 

Trip suddenly felt sick to his stomach, and he knew this time it was his own emotion. “Oh.”

 

He was surprised when she suddenly wrapped her small hand around his larger one. “I have a family now, though.”

 

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, until Skye finally broke it by whispering: “You know, the best part of all of my days were those moments when I felt your happiness. It wasn’t really mine, but it made everything a little bit easier.”

 

Trip couldn’t help but pull her into his arms then. For a second, when he touched her, he was convinced his heart was gonna burst with all the joy and the love, and he wasn’t sure if it was him or her feeling it.

 

Maybe it was both of them, he thought with a smile.


	10. Voicemail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for AU April - Trip leaves a special voicemail for Daisy

“Are you ready for this?”, Trip asks as he hands Daisy her duffle bag.

 

She throws it over her shoulder and draws in a long, deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” She shrugs and her smile is unsure when she looks up at Trip. They’re right in front of the security checks now, and this is how far as Trip will be able to go. It’s time to say Goodbye.

 

“Alright girl, I s’ppose that’s it then.” Trip’s smile is as wide as ever but underneath his façade, he feels like someone is squeezing his heart inside of his chest. 

 

“I’ll call you the second I land.” Daisy gently nudges his shoulder. “I promise.”

 

In that moment, the speaker makes a dinging noise and a mechanical voice announces: _“This is the last call for flight EG546 to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. All passenger report to gate B31.”_

 

“That’s me”, Daisy states matter-of-factly and squares her shoulders as if to prepare herself for what’s coming next. “I should go. Can’t have that plane leaving without me in it.” She gives him another warm smile before turning towards the security checks.

 

On a sudden impulse, Trip reaches out to grab her arm before she can leave. “Daisy, wait!” Then, with one swift move, he pulls her into a tight hug, his face buried in her hair. “I’ll miss you.”

 

His hug almost knocks the air out of her, and Daisy has to bring up all her strength to will her eyes not to release any tears just yet. “I’ll miss you too, Trip.” She had meant to say it with confidence, but it doesn’t come out as more than a whisper. She needs a few more seconds until she trusts herself not to start crying, but then she finally pulls away from him. Clearing her throat, she says: “Right. Okay. I gotta go.”

 

And then she disappears in between all the people in the security line and leaves her best friend behind.

 

On the drive back home, Trip spends more time glancing at his phone on the passenger seat than he does looking at the street in front of him. It’s stupid and he knows that, but his mind is running in circles around the though he’s had ever since Daisy told him about the job offer in Paris, and he can’t help but wonder if her plane is already up in the air or if he could still tell her Goodbye one last time.

 

However, by the time he arrives back at his apartment 40 minutes later, the Airline App he downloaded to his phone to keep track of Daisy’s flight status has already popped up an alert, informing him that the plane is well on its way.

 

Pacing around his living room, Trip recites the conversation he’s had with Hunter the night before. He had been drunk off his ass, but the words still resonated clearly in his head. _“You gotta tell her before it’s too late, mate. Because if she gets on that plane, you’ve missed your chance.”_ Usually, Hunter would be the absolute last person Trip would go to for advice, but the longer he thought about it, the more he realized how stupid he’d been.

 

“Oh, hell”, Trip curses, surging for his phone. He has Daisy on speed dial, but he opts for typing out her number himself. Logically, he knows she isn’t going to pick up, but it still stings when Daisy’s voice mail announces in her voice: “Heyyyyy, it’s Daisy! You know the game. But be warned, I probably won’t listen to your message anyway, so just keep calling until I get of my ass and pick up the phone!”

 

When he hears the _Beep_ , signaling him to leave his message, Trip freezes. While the words are stuck in his throat, he imagines Daisy looking at him with her eyebrows raised, waiting for him to say something. He quickly clears his throat and starts talking.

 

“Daisy. Hey. I know you said you were gonna call once you arrived in Paris, but I just wanted to say that I hope you had a good flight and that you’re safe. And that I miss you. I really miss you. Yeah, so, that’s all. That’s all I wanted to say.”

 

He hesitates for a few seconds, but when he’s about to end the call, he gives himself one final push. “Actually, no, that’s not true. I know it’s too late now, and that I should have told you earlier.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I’m in love with you, Daisy. I’ve been in love with you for years. And I never told you because I didn’t want things to be different between us, but now that you’re all the way across the world, they’re already pretty different. So I thought you should know. I hope this doesn’t ruin what we have. Nothing has to change. Just – Just please call me when you land, okay?” After a quick, mumbled Goodbye, Trip disconnects the call.

 

With a sigh, he lets himself sink onto the couch and checks Daisy’s flight again. She has another 6 hours left before she arrives at Charles de Gaulle airport. It’s still early in the day, but Trip has the day off from work, and so the hours pass by painfully slow. He spends the better part of the day wandering around his apartment and turning the TV on and off repeatedly.

 

When around 3pm the alert that Daisy’s plane has landed finally pops up on his phone, Trip feels his heart beating in his throat. Minutes pass by without his screen lighting up with Daisy’s promised call. _She_ just _arrived_ , he tells himself, _she’s probably not even off the plane yet. Give her some time_.

 

But even an hour later there is no call, no text, nothing. The only possible explanation he can think off is twisting his guts. She couldn’t bring herself to call him back after listening to his voice mail. He had ruined absolutely everything.

 

Trip curses and resists the urge to kick something.

 

The rest of the day, Trip does his best to keep busy. He tries not to think about Daisy too much, but even his best efforts can’t stop his mind from wandering back to her. Relief overcomes him when he falls asleep that night, but it is short lived. Around 2.30 in the morning, someone starts banging against his door, ripping him out of his sleep.

 

He tries to ignore it, but when 10 minutes later the knocking still hasn't stopped, Trip groans and gets out of his bed. It's not the first time the old, demented woman who lives across the hall has woken him up at ungodly hours to ask if he had seen one of her cats.

 

He tries to put up a friendly face, but despite his best efforts, he isn't doing a very good job. His eyes are still heavy with sleep when he opens the door. "Your cat isn't here Mrs. Davis."

 

"Not Mrs. Davis", he hears in response, and the voice has him wide awake in seconds.

 

"Daisy."

 

"Hi." Daisy smiles at him shyly. She looks small and tired, standing there in his doorframe, and Trip isn't one-hundred percent sure he isn't just dreaming the whole thing.

 

"You should be in Paris." It's the only thing he can think of saying, and it makes him want to bang his head against the wall.

 

"Well, yeah." She nervously wrings her hands, then runs them through her hair as if to make time for herself to find the right words. Trip doesn't blame her. "But when I got off the plane I listened to your voicemail and I took the first possible plane back." 

 

Trip's heart leaps in his chest and he wants to say something, but Daisy won't let him interrupt her. "I know I promised to call, but... you caught me a little off guard there. I just needed some time to process, y'know? And uhm, I think 7 hours on a plane was plenty of time to realize - to realize that I feel the same way."

 

All of a sudden his mouth feels dry. "Y-You do?"

 

"Yeah", she says and looks up at him, shyly meeting his eyes. "I do."

 

There are so many things he wants to say, but the only thing he manages to do is to stand there and stare at her in awe.

 

"My god, Trip", Daisy finally exclaims into the silence and puts down the suitcase he didn't realize she'd been holding. "I didn't fly all the way back here from Paris just for you not to kiss me." She takes one step closer to him as a last invitation.

 

Finally - _finally_ \- Trip snaps out of his trance-like state. He moves towards her until there is almost no space left in between them, allows himself to look at her in a way he's never allowed himself before. His thumb pushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and then his lips are meeting hers.

 

The kiss starts out tentative and careful, but it doesn't stay that way for long. Soon, Trip can feel Daisy running her tongue over his bottom lip, and when he responds with the same eagerness, she softly moans into his mouth, and it's the last push he needs to pull her into the apartment, kick the door shut and hoist her up against the wall.

 

Daisy's head falls back as she wraps her legs around his hip. When Trip's mouth finds a particularly sensitive spot right between her earlobe, she gasps: "We should have done this much sooner."

 

He couldn't agree more.

 


	11. Coffee Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for AU April, but forgo to post it on time - Coffee Shop AU

"Can you get this next one, mate?"

 

Trip curses under his breath as Hunter disappears in the back to do god knows what - probably just hide from the midday rush that is typical for any Starbucks. He hurries to finish up the latte macchiato he is making for a middle aged woman, then turns back to the counter to take the next order.

 

The girl next in line catches Trip's eye immediately. He's seen her before, she comes in practically every day around the same time, but he has never actually talked to her. She looks Asian, maybe Chinese, with brown eyes, long, dark hair and bangs hanging over her forehead. He especially notices that she is very pretty.

 

"What can I get for you?", he asks, giving the girl his signature smile.

 

She takes a brief moment to study the board with the various drinks that's hanging behind Trip on the wall. "I'll have a Chai Tea Latte. Venti, please." 

 

Trip nods and jots down her order on the paper cup, then he looks back up. "Can I get your name for that?" He hopes he doesn't sound _too_ interested in her name.

 

"Beth", she responds and hands him the exact amount of money for her drink, a cheeky smirk playing around her lips. 

 

When he hands her the Chai Tea Latte a minute later, he smiles again and says: "Have a good day, Beth."

 

"You too", she counters, glancing down at his name tag, "Trip."

 

* * *

 

 

She comes back again the next day, and Trip finds himself excited when he is the one to take her order again.

 

She orders the same thing as the day before. Not wanting to seem as if he had remembered her name for any special reason, Trip asks: "And your name?"

 

Her friendly grin doesn't falter when she says: "Lori."

 

Trip frowns, but doesn't say anything. Maybe he remembered it wrong. Or maybe she's just one of those people who doesn't  want random baristas to know her name. He takes her money and hands her the drink. "Have a nice day." He doesn't use her name this time, but his smile is unwavering.

 

* * *

 

 

She keeps coming back and she keeps coming back with the same order and a different name.

 

On Wednesday, she is Sasha. On Thursday, she goes by Maggie. 

 

On Friday, before he drives to work, Trip runs all the names she's given him through Google. The first thing that pops up is a list of all the characters on The Walking Dead, followed by the Wikipedia page of the show. With a laugh, he opens the character list and quickly writes down some of the female names in the section titled 'Main Characters'.

 

Later, when the girl comes in again, Trip takes her order as usual, but instead of asking for her name, this time he smirks and pulls out the note. "Let me guess", he says, dramatically clearing his throat, "Tara? Carol? Rosita? Michonne?"

 

The girl's friendly smile turns into a wide grin and she laughs. "I was wondering how long it was going to take you to figure it out!"

 

Trip can't help but join in on her laugh. "I gotta give it to you, I've never seen The Walking Dead."

 

The girl gasps and clasps her hand over her heart. "Are you serious? How have you _not_ seen it? It's only like, the best show on TV right now! Even though... this one character, Spencer, kind of reminds me of my ex boyfriend which is a little weird. But that's besides the point. Sorry. I tend to run off topic. Anyway. _How_ have you not seen it?"

 

Trip chuckles at her gush of words. It's really kind of cute. He shrugs his shoulders before answering: "Dunno. I guess I'm just not a zombie kind of guy?"

 

The girl rolls her eyes at him, but keeps grinning. "Please. Everyone is a zombie kind of person. You might just not know it yet. You should definitely watch the show. It's on Netflix."

 

Before he has the time to agree or disagree, the man next in line loudly clears his throat, and Trip realizes that they're making everyone wait.

 

Quickly, he says: "Y'know, maybe I'll give it a shot if you tell me your real name."

 

A mischievous spark appears in the girl's eyes. She passes him the money for her drink and winks. "How about you write down your phone number on that cup. I might tell you then."

 

With that, she steps aside to let the next customer in line place their order. 

 

A few minutes after he has handed her the cup with his number on it, his phone vibrates in his back pocket. He gestures for Hunter to get the next order, then quickly pulls out his phone. 

 

On his screen, there is a message from a number that's not in his contacts. The message simply reads: "It's Daisy."

 

With a raised eyebrow, Trip opens his internet browser and googles "Daisy on The Walking Dead". There are no results.

 

He grins to himself.

 


	12. It's A Caramel Miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tripdaisy as Schmece (New Girl) Fic nobody asked for!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Jaye :)

When Daisy walks out of her gynecologist's office after her routine appointment, she shoots Trip a quick text before getting into her car.

_'Heading over to the loft now, are you with Fitz?'_

Trip's response comes almost instantly in form of a selfie with a pair of ridiculous dog ears and a blur in the background that kind of looks like Fitz. Daisy shakes her head, chuckling at her silly husband.

When she arrives at the loft, she expects Jemma to be almost done packing, but instead she finds her friend in the middle of an almost full room, only a couple of boxes sealed. 

"What took you so long?", Jemma groans as she dumps a stack of books into the box right in front of her.

Daisy sighs, throwing her purse and phone on Jemma's bed. "So sorry I'm late, Vic just kept going on and on about her divorced and I was like 'Please girl, just look at my vagina'!" She throws her hands up to demonstrate her frustration, then she looks around the room again and frowns. "Wait, is this all you have packed? Jemma, Fitz and Trip will be back in two hours!"

"I know, I know", her friend whines, "I tried, but I just couldn't bring myself to pack more."

"You know", Daisy arches her eyebrows and grabs some more books to put into the box in front of them, "you don't have to move out. Nobody asked you to."  Jemma huffs out a long breath. "It's just something I need to do for myself, Daisy. Being here... being here and living with him is just too hard right now." Daisy understands where Jemma is coming from, that she doesn't want to live with Fitz anymore after their breakup, his relationship that just ended, and his apparent rejection, but that doesn't mean she won't miss her friend when she spends the summer in England with her parents. "Fine.  Okay. We should get moving then. I think this box is full. Let's get that out of the way."

Daisy leaves Jemma alone to go open the front door for them, and just in that moment, her phone starts ringing on the bed. Jemma looks down and grabs the phone after reading 'Victoria Hand' on the caller ID. "Vic!", she chirps into Daisy's cell.

"Daisy! You're pregnant!" Jemma freezes at their mutual friend's words. "What?", she squeals excitedly, "Daisy is pregnant?" "Jemma?", the gynecologist asks on the other end of the line, "Why are you picking up Daisy's phone?"

Jemma doesn't have time to elaborate, because she can hear Daisy walking back towards her room. "Call back in two minutes, okay? We'll never tell Daisy that this happened!"  Without waiting for an answer, she disconnects the call and throws the phone back onto the bed, just as Daisy walks back in. "We're all good to go." When Daisy notices Jemma's wide grin, she halts. "What's going on?"

Jemma swallows hard and tries to press her lips into a neutral line. "I'm just really... really happy that, uhm, we're getting the boxes out of the way."

Daisy doesn't comment on her strange behavior, she just shrugs her shoulders without much of a second though. "Ah. Right. I'm just gonna take that down to your car, then." She gestures at the box full of Jemma's textbooks and reaches out to lift it up.  "But it's so heavy", Jemma argues weakly, unwilling to reveal her new-found knowledge. Daisy gives her a confused look and picks up the box despite her friend's half-hearted protest. Immediately, Jemma dashes forward, grabbing the other side of the box to help her carry it.

"Alright, fine, let's carry it together", Daisy murmurs, shaking her head. As the two of them walk to the front door of the loft, Daisy's phone on Jemma's bed starts ringing again. "Oh Daisy, you should take that call!", Jemma exclaims, but Daisy doesn't stop. "Hey, can someone get that for me?", she shouts out to Mack and Elena, who are bickering on the couch. They pause when they're addressed, and Elena gets up from her spot to grab the phone as Daisy and Jemma disappear out the door. "Hello?" "Daisy! You're pregnant!"

"Oh my god!", Elena gasps and slaps a hand over her mouth. "Daisy is pregnant?!"

Her words catch Mack's attention, and he is off the couch in seconds. "Daisy is pregnant?" "Who the hell is this?", the woman on the phone asks, obviously unaware of what's going on. "I'm Elena, Daisy's former roommate's fiancée."

For a few seconds, there's a stunned silence on the other end, then the woman clears her throats before she speaks. "Just - tell Daisy to call me back. I need to see a patient." With that, the call ends. "Trip and Daisy are having a baby?" Mack is shaking his head, already rummaging through his pocket for his phone. Seconds later, he is dialing the number, and when the call goes through, he exclaims: "Trip, congratulations man, I can't believe this!"

"What are you talking about?", the other man asks in confusion. "Why didn't you tell me you were having a baby?" As he says the words, Jemma reappears in the doorframe, eyes wide and gesturing her hands at him. "He doesn't know!", she mouths, "Trip doesn't know yet!"

When it dawns on him, Mack slaps his hand in front of his mouth. "Oooh, I messed up just now." "W-What's going on?" Trip's voice sounds hoarse and a little choked up when he speaks up. "Give me that!" Jemma reaches for the phone and pulls it away from Mack. "Trip, it's Jemma!" She takes a second to get her thoughts straight before continuing. "I'm so sorry, I picked up Daisy's phone and Vic told me the news and now everybody knows but Daisy!"

There's a long sigh and Trip's voice trembles slightly. "Jemma, I need you to slow down." Another pause. "Is it - is it really true? Is Daisy really pregnant?" Jemma can't help the wide smile that erupts all over her face. "It's true, Trip. I'm gonna send her home in an hour, so just be there, okay? She needs to hear it from you. I'm so happy for you."

"Who are you happy for?"

Jemma spins around, disconnecting the call as she moves. She is faced with Daisy standing in the doorframe, giving her a curious look. "Oh." She gestures at the phone in her hand, trying to stall for time to come up with an excuse. "That was my dad. He finally found his lost keys. He's been looking for them for days. Silly man."

Daisy's eyebrows rise up. "You've been acting really weird today, Jem. Are you sure you really wanna move out?"

Jemma waves her off. "We've talked about this. Now come on, let's get back to work, shall we?" Together, they continue to pack up all of Jemma's belongings, and with the help of Mack and Elena, they carry the sealed boxes down to Jemma's car. They are done quickly, and soon Jemma and Daisy find themselves alone in Jemma's empty room.

“Wow”, Daisy sighs, while the two of them look around the room that had been full of memories just this morning. “You're really doing this.”

She doesn't say it as a question, but nevertheless, Jemma nods. “I really am.”

After a long pause, Daisy suddenly grabs Jemma by the shoulder and pulls her closer, wrapping her up in a tight hug. “I'm really, really gonna miss you, Jem.”

“Oh, stop it”, Jemma scolds, glad that Daisy can't see her face as she is fighting back tears. “England isn’t out of the world. I'll be back before you'll know it. I'm only a phone call away.” With a deep breath, she untangles herself from her friend and adds: “Now get out of here, before I start crying like a baby.”

Proud of her subtle joke, she coaxes Daisy out of the apartment, not without saying Goodbye about a hundred times more.

The drive home to her and Trip’s house feels longer to Daisy than it usually does. A strange feeling settles in her stomach when she thinks about not seeing Jemma all summer.

 When she pulls up in the drive way, Trip’s car is already parked in his spot in the garage. It seems that Fitz’s meeting which Trip had accompanied him to had run shorter than expected. Daisy smiles to herself as she unloads a box full of clutter Jemma hadn’t wanted to take.

 She carries the box to the front entrance and pushes the door handle down with her elbow, walking backwards through the door. “Hey babe, I’m home.”

She turns around as she calls out, and what she sees lets her halt mid-movement. She puts the box down slowly, her mouth opening slightly in surprise. Their entire living room is filled with bouquets and vases of flowers in every color imaginable. There are tulips and lilies and roses, pink and white and yellow and red. But most of all there are daisies, hundreds of them decorating every bouquet. In midst of all the flowers is Trip, holding a bouquet in each arm and beaming at her.

 “What’s happening?”, she asks, arching an eyebrow, but returning his smile.

 “I’m pregnant”, Trip says.

 It sounds so bizarre, Daisy snorts out loud. “What?!”

 “I mean”, he backtracks quickly, “you’re pregnant. We’re pregnant.”

 The grin falls off her face. He wouldn’t joke about this, would he? Not after all the months of trying, after all the times he found her crying when yet another test came back negative. Again she mouths “ _What?”_ , not trusting her voice.

 “Vic called you”, Trip begins to explain, putting down the flowers and taking a step toward her, “and Jemma picked up. Then she called again and Hunter picked up and Hunter told me. It’s uh, it’s quite a pathetic scene, but… We’re having a baby, Daisy.” He pauses just for a second to look around their overflowing living room. “I wanted to bring you flowers but I couldn’t decide which ones, so…”

 There’s another pause, and this time Daisy can finally bring herself to say something. Her voice is shaky and she has to choke back a sob, but she whispers: “We’re having a baby?”

 The smile spreads wider over Trip‘s face. “Yeah. We’re having a baby.”

 Finally – finally – she recovers from her initial shock and returns his bright grin. Tears are shimmering in her eyes. “We’re having a baby.”

 They gravitate toward each other, meeting halfway. Trip gently brushes Daisy’s bangs out of her face and presses a soft kiss to her forehead, smiling against her skin.

 Daisy relaxes into his arms, still a bit choked up. “I didn’t think it was gonna happen for us”, she says, stunned.

 “I know”, Trip responds and wraps her up in his arms. “It’s a caramel miracle.”


End file.
